1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a post mix beverage dispenser that can supply various beverages in a sanitary manner by additionally installing an apparatus for generating functional water such as ozonated water or electrolyzed water.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a post mix beverage dispenser is configured such that when a user sets a cup to the dispenser and pushes a dispensing lever or button, a selected beverage is poured into a cup. Such a post mix beverage dispenser is installed with a cooler, a dispensing valve, a carbonater, and a tank and a pump for supplying water. The dispenser also has a device connected to a dispensing nozzle and a dispensing valve for driving or supplying carbon dioxide gas, water and beverage ingredients.
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a conventional post mix beverage dispenser. Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional post mix beverage dispenser 55 is equipped with a case 51 for housing various devices. At the front side of the case 51, dispensing valves 52 are installed horizontally for supplying various beverages, dispensing nozzles 53 are installed in a protruded condition under the dispensing valves 52 for discharging beverages, and dispensing levers 54 are installed at the back of the dispensing nozzles 53 for opening and closing the dispensing valves 52. When a user puts a cup on a dispensing lever 54 of a selected beverage and pushes the dispensing lever 54 backward, the dispensing valve 52 opens and the selected beverage is poured into the cup.
The greatest concern in such a beverage dispenser is sanitation. In particular, the water stored in the water tank is easily contaminated, resulting in serious deterioration. Also, the water leaking out from the dispensing valves or nozzles when poured into a cup must be often withdrawn. The problem of ill sanitation is raised also in the automatic vending machine of cup beverage that has a structure similar to a post mix beverage dispenser.
To solve the sanitation problem of the vending machine for beverage, there have been conventionally proposed an automatic vending machine configured to sterilize or purify water by installing a sterilizer using a filter, a UV lamp or an ozone generator. However, in the automatic vending machine using a UV lamp, a sufficient sterilizing efficiency cannot be attained. Also, such contamination as developed after radiating by the UV lamp is unavoidable. In case of using ozone gas, it requires a considerable time to be dissolved in water, and the time is dependent upon the shape and size of the ozone gas when it is brought into contact with water. In particular, ozone gas particles with small size are advantageously dissolved in water. Thus, in the automatic vending machine based on a method in which ozone gas is generated in the air and then dissolved in water, an additional device is required for making ozone gas into fine particles. Further, the undissolved ozone gas emanated into the air would be harmful to the user. Thus, it is necessary to remove the harmful ozone gas using a separate device, which increases financial burden of equipment. Also, the user""s safety cannot be ensured due to the emanated ozone gas.
The post mix beverage dispenser is sterilized by using chemicals such as chlorine (Cl2) gas. In this case, however, the sterilization process is complicated and time-consuming and the effect and safety of the sterilization cannot be trusted. Further, the cost of chlorine sterilization is high for the management and personal expenses.
To solve the sanitation problems encountered in the conventional post mix beverage dispenser, it is an object of the present invention to provide a sanitary post mix beverage dispenser which can simultaneously and safely perform sterilization, disinfection, deodorization and washing of water and beverages as well as containers and conduits installed inside the machine, by additionally installing a simple apparatus for generating functional water such as ozonated water or electrolyzed water by means of electrodes operating in water.
To accomplish the above object of the present invention, there is provided a post mix beverage dispenser equipped with a sterilizer, comprising a water supplier for supplying drinking water, an ingredient container for storing a beverage ingredient, an ingredient supply tube connected to the ingredient container for supplying the beverage ingredient, a carbon dioxide tank for storing and supplying carbon dioxide gas, a mixing tub for mixing the drinking water supplied from the water supplier and the carbon dioxide supplied from the carbon dioxide tank to produce carbonated water, a discharge pump for discharging the beverage ingredient, a dispensing valve opened by the action of a dispensing lever for discharging the carbonated water in the mixing tub and the beverage ingredient, a dispensing nozzle for discharging the carbonated water and the beverage ingredient into a cup, and a functional water generator for generating functional water in the water supplier by facing electrodes provided to operate in water.
In the beverage dispenser of the present invention, the functional water generator may be installed in the water supplier and operated by means of supplying a power source to sterilize a water supply passage. Also, the functional water generator may be connected to the ingredient supply tube and operated by means of supplying a power source to sterilize a beverage ingredient supply passage.
The beverage dispenser of the present invention may further comprise a nozzle washing device installed out of the dispensing nozzle, which is operated by supplying a power source to the functional water generator and by draining water in the water tank to sterilize both the inside and outside of the dispensing nozzle.
In the beverage dispenser of the present invention, the functional water generator may be an ozonated water generator having at least one pair of facing electrodes or an electrolyzed water generator having at least one pair of facing electrodes disposed with a separating layer interposed therebetween. The facing electrodes are made of platinum (Pt), a platinum/palladium (Pt/Pd) alloy or a Pt group/Pd alloy. Alternatively, the facing electrodes may be made of a conductive metal coated with platinum (Pt), a platinum/palladium (Pt/Pd) alloy or a Pt group/Pd alloy. The conductive metal is preferably titanium (Ti). In case of using the Pt/Pd alloy, 85.0 to 99.95 wt % of Pt and 15.0 to 0.05 wt % of Pd are preferably contained in the alloy. Also, the facing electrodes are preferably carbon electrodes having electric conductivity.
The facing electrodes may be of a plane type, a flat panel type having one or more holes, a small strip type, a fine wire type, a fish bone type, a mesh type or a cylinder type, and the distance of the facing electrodes is preferably in the range of 0.1 to 10 mm.
Also, the beverage dispenser of the present invention may further include a power source for applying a voltage to the functional water generator. The power may be a direct-current (DC) voltage, a pulse voltage, a square wave pulse voltage, a sequence-controlled pulse voltage or an alternating pulse voltage.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a post mix beverage dispenser equipped with a sterilizer, comprising means for storing and supplying drinking water, means for storing and supplying a beverage ingredient, means for storing and supplying carbon dioxide, means for mixing the supplied drinking water and the carbon dioxide to produce carbonated water, means for discharging the beverage ingredient and carbonated water to the outside, and means for generating functional water in the drinking water by means of facing electrodes provided to operate in water.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sterilizing and washing method of a post mix beverage dispenser having a water supplier for supplying drinking water, an ingredient container for storing a beverage ingredient, an ingredient supply tube connected to the ingredient container for supplying the beverage ingredient, a carbon dioxide tank for storing and supplying carbon dioxide gas, a mixing tub for mixing the drinking water supplied from the water supplier and the carbon dioxide supplied from the carbon dioxide tank to produce carbonated water, a discharge pump for discharging the beverage ingredient, a dispensing valve opened by the action of a dispensing lever for discharging the carbonated water in the mixing tub and the beverage ingredient, and a dispensing nozzle for discharging the carbonated water and the beverage ingredient into a cup, wherein the method includes the steps of generating functional water in the water supplier by facing electrodes provided to operate in water, and discharging the functional water to the dispensing nozzle through the mixing tub, or through the ingredient supply tube.
The feature of the present invention lies in that the functional water generator for generating functional water having various functions of sterilization, disinfection, deodorization or washing is installed in the water supplier, that is, in the water tank or water supply duct of a post mix beverage dispenser, to generate functional water in the water contained in the water tank or passing through the water supply duct, thereby performing sterilization, disinfection, deodorization and washing of water and beverages as well as containers and conduits installed in the dispenser. In the beverage dispenser according to the present invention, the functional water generator includes at least one pair of facing electrodes so that when a voltage is applied to the electrodes, the water contained in the water tank or passing through the water supply duct is electrolyzed to generate functional water. While the conventional automatic vending machine with an ozone gas generator operated in air requires equipments for dissolving the generated ozone gas into the water stored in the water tank, and the conventional post mix beverage dispenser sterilized by chlorine gas needs high cost of management and personal expenses, in the post mix beverage dispenser according to the present invention, sterilization, disinfection, deodorization or washing of both containers and ducts in the dispenser and drinking water can be simultaneously performed without such additional equipment and high cost, or causing a safety problem due to undissolved ozone gas or chlorine.